Relationships Are Central to the Student Experience. Can Colleges Engineer Them?

Having a mentor can help students academically, and is even linked to their later well-being. Such connections can’t be forced — but they can be encouraged.

Teagle grantee Denison University scaled up its faculty-led “advising circles” with Teagle support to serve all incoming first-year students. This initiative is part of a larger effort underway at Denison and its campus partners Allegheny, Kenyon, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, and College of Wooster to establish interdisciplinary pathways organized around a common theme.